strands of braid on the Austrian knot), 1 for sub-lieutenant, 2 for
lieutenant, 3 for captain, 4 for commandant, 5 (3 gold and 2 silver)
for lieutenant-colonel, 5 for colonel (Plate III., line 1, figs. 1 and 5).
Epaulettes: sub-lieutenant, 1 with fringe on right shoulder and
1 scale on left; lieutenant, fringed on left and scale on right shoulder;
captain, both fringed; commandant, as sub-lieutenant but with
thicker fringe; lieutenant-colonel and colonel, both with thick fringes
(in the case of the lieutenant-colonel the body is silver). The
vertical braids of the képi also vary according to rank. Field officers
as a rule wear in full dress “shaving brush” plumes instead of a ball.
Under-Officers.—The badge is a stripe crossing the lower half of the sleeve diagonally; lance-corporals 1, corporals 2 worsted stripes; sergeants 1, sergeant-majors 2 gold or silver stripes. The “adjutant,” who corresponds to the British sergeant-major, has a ring of lace, like an officer’s, but narrower.
Germany
The infantry of the Prussian Guard wear single-breasted dark Prussian blue tunics with red piping on front and skirt flaps, or gold buttons (1st and 5th Foot Guards and Guard Fusiliers silver), white belts (3rd or “Fusilier” battalions and the Guard Fusiliers black), red collars and cuffs, spiked helmets with, in full dress, white plumes (Guard Fusiliers black). Guard distinctions throughout Germany take the form of “guard-stripes,” collar stripes of embroidery, and similar stripes forming false buttonholes round the buttons on the cuff, whether these are of the “Brandenburg” (plain flap with 3 buttons), “French” (slashed flap with 3 buttons), or “Swedish” (round cuff with buttons along the top edge) pattern.
The 1st to 4th Foot Guards have two guard-stripes on the collar, Swedish cuff with stripes, and white, red, yellow and light blue (the ordinary German indicative sequence) shoulder-straps. The Guard Fusiliers have the same uniform with yellow shoulder-straps and plume and belt as stated above. The 1st to 4th Grenadier Guards have double guard-stripes, red “Brandenburg” cuffs with blue flaps and embroidered stripes, shoulder-straps coloured in the same order as the Foot Guards. The 5th Foot Guards and 5th Grenadier Guards (of later formation) wear only a single guard-stripe; these return to white shoulder-straps in the sequence, and both have the blue flap and stripes. Service cap as in the line. For gala wear the 3rd battalion of the 1st Foot Guards, and all battalions of the 1st Grenadier Guards, wear the old mitre cap, once of cloth, but now become rigid and consisting of a metal front plate and a stiff red cap behind it.
The line infantry (other than Bavarians, Saxons, Württembergers, &c.) wear blue tunic with gold buttons, red piping, and red collar. The cuffs, also red, are of the “Brandenburg” pattern, plain round with a small red flap. The shoulder straps bear the number, or cipher. The head-dress is a small black leather helmet with brass Prussian eagle badge and spike. The trousers are dark grey with red piping, the equipment of black leather, the boots of Wellington pattern (the trousers being tucked into them). The greatcoat is grey with shoulder-straps as on tunic and a collar patch of the cuff-flap colour. The service cap is a round cap without peak, dark blue with red band and piping, and two cockades, “national” and “imperial.” Exceptions to these rules are: Prussian grenadiers (Nos. 1 to 12) wear black horsehair plumes and white belts, Mecklenburg grenadiers No. 89, Queen’s Fusiliers No. 86, Brunswick regiment No. 92, 145th Prussian regiment, black plumes.
The Prussian and quasi-Prussian portions of the army follow a clear rule as to the badge of the army corps. The infantry of each corps has shoulder-straps of uniform colour, and when a regiment changes its corps it changes its shoulder-strap. There is a further distinguishing mark on the cuff-flap:—
| I. | II. | III. | IV. | V. | VI. | VII. | VIII. | |
| Shoulder-strap | White | White | Red | Red | Yellow | Yellow | Lt. blue | Lt. blue |
| Cuff-flap piping | White | Nil | White | Nil | White | Nil | White | Nil |
| IX. | X. | XI. | XV. | XVI. | XVII. | XVIIl. | XX.[1] | |
| Shoulder-strap | White | White | Red | Red | Yellow | Yellow | Lt. blue | Lt. blue |
| Cuff-flap piping | Yellow | Lt. blue | Yellow | Lt. blue | Yellow | Lt. blue | Yellow | Lt. blue |
Except in regiments (such as the guards of the smaller states now numbered in the line of the army, and a few others) where the blue flap and guard-stripes are worn, the greater part of the Prussian regiments wear the historic red flap; but there came a time when the system of indicating regimental variations had to be expanded, and thereafter (from No. 145 inclusive onwards) red and white flaps were given alternately to new regiments, in such a way that there was one “white” regiment in each corps. The I. corps on the Russian frontier, being further reinforced, received one regiment with a yellow (150th) and one with a light blue flap (151st). “Guard” distinctions are worn by the Mecklenburg Grenadiers, No. 89, double guard-stripe on collar, blue cuff-flap with red piping and embroidery; by the 7th Prussian Grenadiers, single guard-stripe and blue flap with embroidery (edged with V. corps colour); by the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 8th Prussian Grenadiers and by the 80th Fusiliers (formerly the elector of Hesse’s bodyguard), single guard-stripe and embroidery on the ordinary red cuff-flap.
The infantry of Hesse-Darmstadt, Württemberg and Baden are similarly uniformed to those of Prussia, the distinctions being easily described. The five “Grand Ducal Hessian” regiments (115–118 and 168) have not the corps (XVIII.) distinction, and have both shoulder-straps and cuff-flap of the same colour (red, white, light blue, yellow and red), the senior regiment, 115 (bodyguard regiment), having double guard-stripe on the collar and guard patches on the flap. A very marked distinction is in the buttons, which are invariably silver, and in the helmet badge, which is a lion rampant. The first three regiments wear a black plume.
Of the Württemberg infantry (XIII. corps), the 119th and 123rd regiments (guards) wear the double guard-stripe, and the “Swedish” cuff, also plumed helmets. The remainder have red shoulder-straps and red cuff-flaps edged with light blue, like the XV. army corps, and the only conspicuous distinction is the royal arms instead of the eagle on the helmet. The 120th also wears the grenadier plume.
Of the Baden regiments, the 109th and 110th (guards and grenadiers) have white plumes and white shoulder-straps, the 109th having the Swedish cuff with patches, the double guard stripe, and silver buttons. The remainder have yellow, red, light blue and green shoulder-straps; there is no edging to the flap. The only distinguishing mark for these is the Baden device (a griffin and a shield) on the helmet.
The Saxon infantry, though assimilated to the Prussian in most respects, is distinguished by various well-marked peculiarities. All shoulder-straps are self-coloured and edged with red. All Saxon regiments have either the “Swedish” or more usually the so-called “German” plain round cuff (red), with two buttons on back seam. The guard and grenadier regiments, 100th and 101st, have black plumes, double guard-stripes and “Swedish” cuffs. The helmet has an eight-pointed brass star. The 108th is a rifle regiment, and wears a green tunic with black red-edged collar and cuffs, dark grey trousers and a shako with black plume looped to one side in the Austrian fashion. The service cap of this corps is green with black piping and band. A peculiarity of the Saxons is that the bottom edges of the tunics are edged with red, as well as the front, and the skirt flaps are very short.
The Bavarian infantry has retained its historic light blue uniform, though in most details the Prussian model has been accepted. Tunic and trousers are light blue with red piping, red cuffs, collars and shoulder-straps. The Bavarian bodyguard regiment has red collar with double guard-stripe, red Swedish cuff with stripes, red shoulder-straps and silver buttons, but no plume. The line has gold buttons and appointments and “Brandenburg” cuffs, flaps edged according to the usual sequence (I. corps white, II. none, III. yellow). The service cap is light blue with red band and piping. Belts black.
Jägers and Schützen.—The Jäger uniform is bright green, with red collars, piping and Swedish cuffs (Prussian Guard, double guard-stripe and cuff-stripes), gold buttons, trousers as for line, and a small shako with drooping black plume. The Mecklenburg battalion No. 14, however, has light green collars, cuffs and shoulder-straps edged with red, and double guard-stripe and cuff-stripes. The Guard Schützen battalion (originally a French-speaking corps from Neuchatel) has black collars and cuffs, edged with red shoulder-straps, double guard-stripe and green red-edged “French” (i.e. slashed) cuff-flaps with stripes; and the Jäger battalions of the XII. and XVIII. corps have exactly the same uniform as the Saxon Schützen regiment already mentioned, silver buttons being substituted for gold. The Bavarian Jäger battalions have light blue uniforms with green facings, Swedish cuff, and shako. In all these the field cap is of the colour of the uniform, the band of the colour of the collar, the piping as on the tunic.
Cavalry.—The heavy cavalry consists of the Prussian Gardes du Corps and Guard Cuirassiers, the eight line cuirassier regiments, and the Saxon and Bavarian “heavy cavalry.” In most of these cuirasses of black or bright iron or of brass (with or without breast decorations), and even cuirass-shaped remnants of the old buff coat, in richly decorated leather, are worn on ceremonial occasions. The head-dress is a helmet of burgonet shape. The ordinary full dress of Prussian cuirassiers is a white long-skirted tunic (called a Koller) with white shoulder-straps and collars, edged along the collar and down the front (which is hooked, not buttoned) with broad braid (white, with lines of the regimental colour). The Swedish cuffs, edged with similar braid, are of the regimental colour, of which colour there is also a patch on the collar and piping round the shoulder-straps and back seams. In full dress white trousers, otherwise dark grey trousers with red piping, are worn. The undress tunic is dark blue of the ordinary buttoned pattern, but with braided cuffs, white shoulder-strap and collar-patch and braid as in full dress. The field cap is of the tunic colour with band of the regimental colour. The belts are white. High jack-boots are worn. The guard regiments have double guard-stripe and cuff-stripes.
The Saxon heavy cavalry wears light blue braided cuirassier tunics, with brass scales instead of shoulder-straps, white piping, brass helmets with the Saxon star device, Swedish cuffs cut gauntlet-wise, white or light blue trousers, light blue cap, and white belts. In the 1st Guard regiment the collar and cuffs are white, the braid light blue and white, the helmet ornament a silver lion, the cap-
- ↑ Not yet formed.
